25 most unaffordable U.S. metros for renters

With rental prices skyrocketing and real wages remaining stagnant, renters across the country are allocating a higher percentage of their spending to housing costs. There are currently over 42 million renter households in the U.S. (36 percent of total households), which represents the highest percentage of renters in more than 50 years. Additionally, many of these renters are categorized as low-income, which has significant implications for urban policy and housing development on a larger scale. Not surprisingly, the issue of affordable housing has become increasingly prominent over the past few years.

According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), affordable housing is defined as a living space (including utilities) for which the householder spends no more than 30 percent of his or her income. Any percentage higher than this amount puts a significant financial burden on the renter and increases the risk that the person will not be able to make payments on time or will not be able to afford other necessities such as food or healthcare. A 2017 report by the Federal Reserve states that renters in the bottom 20 percent of the income distribution spend more than half of their monthly income on rent, and that the amount of income this group spends on rent has increased 10 percentage points since 2000. After paying rent, the typical renter in this group has less than $500 per month left over for other basic expenses.

While housing affordability is a nationwide problem, the “renter wage gap” in some parts of the country is worse than in others. Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Zillow, Credit Sesame looked at the largest 150 metropolitan areas to determine the largest gap between renters’ actual wages and the wages they would need to make in order to afford the median rent for a 1-bedroom apartment.

Takeaways

Nationwide, the median list price for a one-bedroom apartment in 2017 was just north of $1,400 per month. This would require a renter to make a minimum of $27.04 per hour to cover the cost without spending more than 30 percent of income towards rent.

The estimated hourly wage for U.S. renters in 2017 was $11.53 per hour, or 57 percent lower than the minimum amount required to cover a typical one-bedroom apartment.

While hourly wages and rental prices show a positive correlation across the major metropolitan areas, there is still significant variation that cannot be predicted by those two factors alone. This results in a wide range of affordability across the U.S.

Ten of the 25 least affordable metros are located in California alone; almost all are near the coasts.

Out of all 150 metros analyzed, there were only three in which renters earned more than needed to cover the cost of a one-bedroom apartment. Those metros were Fort Wayne, IN, Fort Smith, AR-OK, and Killeen-Temple, TX.

Below are the 25 most unaffordable metros for renters. Full results for the largest 150 metropolitan areas can be found on Credit Sesame.

The 25 most unaffordable metros for renters

Photo Credit: Bradley Sauter / Alamy Stock Photo

25. Fort Collins, CO

Renter wage gap: -53%

Hourly wage needed to pay rent: $23.06

Estimated hourly wage for renters: $10.83

Median 1-bedroom rent: $1,199

Number of renter households: 45,386 (36% of total)

Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy Stock Photo

24. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

Renter wage gap: -53%

Hourly wage needed to pay rent: $24.10

Estimated hourly wage for renters: $11.24

Median 1-bedroom rent: $1,253

Number of renter households: 729,007 (33% of total)

Photo Credit: Zoonar GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo

23. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

Renter wage gap: -53%

Hourly wage needed to pay rent: $24.46

Estimated hourly wage for renters: $11.48

Median 1-bedroom rent: $1,272

Number of renter households: 407,618 (30% of total)

Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy Stock Photo

22. Portland-South Portland, ME

Renter wage gap: -53%

Hourly wage needed to pay rent: $24.62

Estimated hourly wage for renters: $11.51

Median 1-bedroom rent: $1,280

Number of renter households: 63,686 (30% of total)

Photo Credit: Daniil Belyay / Alamy Stock Photo

21. Salinas, CA

Renter wage gap: -53%

Hourly wage needed to pay rent: $27.50

Estimated hourly wage for renters: $12.90

Median 1-bedroom rent: $1,430

Number of renter households: 63,315 (50% of total)

Photo Credit: Steve Minkler / Alamy Stock Photo

20. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

Renter wage gap: -54%

Hourly wage needed to pay rent: $25.04

Estimated hourly wage for renters: $11.50

Median 1-bedroom rent: $1,302

Number of renter households: 504,138 (38% of total)

Photo Credit: philipus / Alamy Stock Photo

19. Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL

Renter wage gap: -55%

Hourly wage needed to pay rent: $25.29

Estimated hourly wage for renters: $11.26

Median 1-bedroom rent: $1,315

Number of renter households: 37,288 (28% of total)

Photo Credit: Gordon Fahey / Alamy Stock Photo

18. Urban Honolulu, HI

Renter wage gap: -55%

Hourly wage needed to pay rent: $32.60

Estimated hourly wage for renters: $14.70

Median 1-bedroom rent: $1,695

Number of renter households: 139,328 (45% of total)

Photo Credit: Jon Helgason / Alamy Stock Photo

17. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

Renter wage gap: -55%

Hourly wage needed to pay rent: $34.04

Estimated hourly wage for renters: $15.35

Median 1-bedroom rent: $1,770

Number of renter households: 570,269 (40% of total)

Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy Stock Photo

16. New Orleans-Metairie, LA

Renter wage gap: -56%

Hourly wage needed to pay rent: $22.12

Estimated hourly wage for renters: $9.78

Median 1-bedroom rent: $1,150

Number of renter households: 185,710 (39% of total)

Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy Stock Photo

15. Providence-Warwick, RI-MA

Renter wage gap: -56%

Hourly wage needed to pay rent: $23.06

Estimated hourly wage for renters: $10.21

Median 1-bedroom rent: $1,199

Number of renter households: 246,207 (40% of total)

Photo Credit: Idamini / Alamy Stock Photo

14. Vallejo-Fairfield, CA

Renter wage gap: -56%

Hourly wage needed to pay rent: $29.19

Estimated hourly wage for renters: $12.79

Median 1-bedroom rent: $1,518

Number of renter households: 59,232 (41% of total)

Photo Credit: Alan Crosthwaite / Alamy Stock Photo

13. San Diego-Carlsbad, CA

Renter wage gap: -57%

Hourly wage needed to pay rent: $33.73

Estimated hourly wage for renters: $14.35

Median 1-bedroom rent: $1,754

Number of renter households: 521,493 (47% of total)

Photo Credit: incamerastock / Alamy Stock Photo

12. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI

Renter wage gap: -59%

Hourly wage needed to pay rent: $27.89

Estimated hourly wage for renters: $11.33

Median 1-bedroom rent: $1,450

Number of renter households: 1,240,948 (36% of total)

Photo Credit: trekandshoot / Alamy Stock Photo

11. Santa Rosa, CA

Renter wage gap: -59%

Hourly wage needed to pay rent: $33.81

Estimated hourly wage for renters: $13.82

Median 1-bedroom rent: $1,758

Number of renter households: 76,269 (40% of total)

Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy Stock Photo

10. Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN

Renter wage gap: -60%

Hourly wage needed to pay rent: $27.56

Estimated hourly wage for renters: $11.13

Median 1-bedroom rent: $1,433

Number of renter households: 234,730 (35% of total)

Photo Credit: Marcelo Vinante / Alamy Stock Photo

9. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

Renter wage gap: -60%

Hourly wage needed to pay rent: $48.08

Estimated hourly wage for renters: $19.41

Median 1-bedroom rent: $2,500

Number of renter households: 278,890 (43% of total)

Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy Stock Photo

8. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

Renter wage gap: -61%

Hourly wage needed to pay rent: $30.42

Estimated hourly wage for renters: $11.78

Median 1-bedroom rent: $1,582

Number of renter households: 824,097 (40% of total)

Photo Credit: Bennie Thornton / Alamy Stock Photo

7. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT

Renter wage gap: -62%

Hourly wage needed to pay rent: $32.62

Estimated hourly wage for renters: $12.55

Median 1-bedroom rent: $1,696

Number of renter households: 108,502 (32% of total)

Photo Credit: incamerastock / Alamy Stock Photo

6. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA

Renter wage gap: -62%

Hourly wage needed to pay rent: $32.92

Estimated hourly wage for renters: $12.38

Median 1-bedroom rent: $1,712

Number of renter households: 98,461 (37% of total)

Photo Credit: Wiliam Perry / Alamy Stock Photo

5. Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA

Renter wage gap: -62%

Hourly wage needed to pay rent: $34.04

Estimated hourly wage for renters: $12.99

Median 1-bedroom rent: $1,770

Number of renter households: 68,611 (48% of total)

Photo Credit: Roman Babakin / Alamy Stock Photo

4. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

Renter wage gap: -62%

Hourly wage needed to pay rent: $38.27

Estimated hourly wage for renters: $14.70

Median 1-bedroom rent: $1,990

Number of renter households: 689,800 (39% of total)

Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy Stock Photo

3. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

Renter wage gap: -65%

Hourly wage needed to pay rent: $37.58

Estimated hourly wage for renters: $13.19

Median 1-bedroom rent: $1,954

Number of renter households: 2,217,775 (52% of total)

Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy Stock Photo

2. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA

Renter wage gap: -66%

Hourly wage needed to pay rent: $40.90

Estimated hourly wage for renters: $13.87

Median 1-bedroom rent: $2,127

Number of renter households: 3,460,165 (49% of total)

Photo Credit: Yuval Helfman / Alamy Stock Photo

1. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA

Renter wage gap: -67%

Hourly wage needed to pay rent: $51.29

Estimated hourly wage for renters: $17.06

Median 1-bedroom rent: $2,667

Number of renter households: 775,476 (46% of total)

Methodology & full results

Monthly rental prices for each metropolitan area were sourced from Zillow. The prices shown are for 1-bedroom apartments in 2017. Using Zillow rent prices, an estimate for the hourly wage needed to afford a 1-bedroom rental was calculated. For this calculation, we assumed a 40-hour workweek and that individuals would spend no more than 30 percent of gross income on rent.

To calculate the estimated hourly wage for renters, median hourly wages were sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2017 Occupational Employment Statistics. These wages were then adjusted by the ratio of renter household income to overall household income using figures from the U.S. Census Bureau 2016 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year Estimates. The number (and percent) of renter households was also determined using data from the 2016 American Community Survey.

The renter wage gap is the percent difference between the estimated hourly wage for renters and the hourly wage needed to pay rent. Only the largest 150 metropolitan areas were included in the analysis. The final list is ordered by renter wage gap. In the event of a tie, cities with higher hourly wages needed to pay rent were ranked higher.